JNU Professor Dr. Binod Khadria to be the inaugural ICCR Chair at Rutgers University

The first ever ICCR Chair will study global worker migration and H-1B visas.

Dr. Binod Khadria, professor of economics and education at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, will be inducted as the inaugural Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair of Indian Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick on May 9.

Dr. Khadria will study global worker migration and H-1B visas at Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations.

The university had earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with the ICCR for establishing a Chair, who will also be a visiting professor at the university.

“This partnership offers an exciting opportunity to unify many of the university’s efforts with Indian institutions and raise our visibility,” Rutgers Chancellor Dr. Richard L. Edwards said in a statement. “As one of the university’s five focus countries for strategic international engagement, strengthening our relationships in India will help us to promote collaborative research and global citizenship throughout the Rutgers community.”

The academic post of Chair of ICCR is created to educate international students about India, its people, history, and culture.

As the ICCR Chair, Khadria will work at both Rutgers and in the Consulate General of India, New York.

This academic post is a first for both the consulate and the university. It is also the only ICCR Chair at present in the United States.

“International migration of skilled and unskilled workers isn’t exclusive to the U.S. and India. It is more of a global issue that we need to address,” said Khadria in a statement posted on the university website. “We need an open dialogue between destination and origin countries in order to fully understand the human rights, freedoms, and educational needs of workers―whether immigrants or local.”

The May 9 induction ceremony of Dr. Khadria at the Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University will be attended by Chancellor Edwards, Consul General of India in New York Riva Ganguly Das and James C. Hayton, Dean of Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

(This post has been updated.)